BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) – A central California retirement home is defending one of its nurses who refused pleas by a 911 operator to perform CPR on an elderly woman, who later died.

“Is there anybody that’s willing to help this lady and not let her die,” dispatcher Tracey Halvorson says on a 911 tape released by the Bakersfield Fire Department aired by several media outlets on Sunday.

“Not at this time,” said the nurse, who didn’t give her full name and said facility policy prevented her from giving the woman medical help.

At the beginning of the Tuesday morning call, the nurse asked for paramedics to come and help the woman who had collapsed in the home’s dining room and was barely breathing.

Halvorson pleads for the nurse to perform CPR, and after several refusals she starts pleading for her to find a resident, or a gardener, or anyone not employed by the home to get on the phone, take her instructions and help the woman.

“Can we flag someone down in the street and get them to help this lady?” Halvorson says on the call. “Can we flag a stranger down? I bet a stranger would help her.”

The 87-year-old was later declared dead at Mercy Southwest Hospital, officials said.

The executive director of Glenwood Gardens, Jeffrey Toomer, defended the nurse’s actions in a statement, saying she did indeed follow policy.

“In the event of a health emergency at this independent living community our practice is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel arrives,” Toomer said in a written statement. “That is the protocol we followed.” 

Here is a partial transcript of the 911 call [source: Ventura County Star (California) and LexisNexis] from a senior living facility nurse – identified as Colleen – requesting help for an 87-year-old woman who was barely breathing. In the call, the nurse says she is not allowed to perform to CPR. The 911 dispatcher pleads with her to find someone who doesn’t work for the facility who can do CPR until an ambulance arrives. No CPR was done and the woman later died. The call ends when the ambulance arrived.

Dispatcher: This woman’s not breathing enough. She’s gonna die if we don’t get this started. Do you understand?

Caller: I understand. I am a nurse. But I cannot have our other citizens, who don’t know CPR, do it. We’re in a dining room.

Dispatcher: I will instruct them. Is there anyone there?

Caller: I cannot do that.

Dispatcher: OK, is there anyone there who is willing to help this patient?

Caller: I am, but…

Dispatcher: OK great, then I’ll walk you through it all. EMS takes the liability for this, Colleen. I’m happy to … OK? This is EMS protocol. OK?

Caller: (To someone off the phone) I don’t know where he is. She’s yelling at me to have one of our other residents perform CPR. And I’m not gonna do that, and make that call.

Dispatcher: Colleen, is there anyone that works there that’s willing to do it?

Caller: We can’t do that.

Dispatcher: Are we just gonna let this lady die?

Caller: Well that’s why we’re calling 911.

Dispatcher: We can’t wait. She can’t wait right now. She is stopping breathing. She can’t wait for them to get there.

Caller: She’s taken three breaths.

Dispatcher: It’s not enough. We need to get CPR started.

Caller: (Chatter in background) He’s saying we don’t. You can talk to my boss, and I don’t know what to say.

Dispatcher: OK. (To someone off phone.) They’re refusing CPR, they’re gonna let her die. By the facility, yeah.

Caller: When will the fire department be here? When will the ambulance …

Dispatcher: They’re coming. They’ve been on the way all this time but we can’t wait. This lady’s gonna die.

Caller: Yeah.

Dispatcher: OK, well then if you get anybody, any stranger that happens to walk by that’s willing to help. I understand if your boss is telling you can’t do it. But if there’s any human being. … Is there anyone that’s willing to help this lady and not let her die?

Caller: Um, not at this time.

Dispatcher: (To someone off phone) They won’t. They won’t touch her at all. I can’t get anyone to touch her at all.

Caller: We have residents that are …

Dispatcher: Any guests? Any guests that are there that are willing to help?

Caller: No, I don’t have any.

Dispatcher: Is there a gardener, any staff? Anybody who doesn’t work for you anywhere? Can we flag someone down in the street and get them to help this lady. … Can we flag a stranger down? I bet a stranger will help her. I’m pretty good at talking them into it. If you can flag a stranger down I will help. I will tell them how to help her.

Caller: (To someone off phone) She said not to move her. OK.

Dispatcher: Has anyone gone to look for a stranger?

Caller: They’re here right now.

Dispatcher: Alright. 

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